The Washington Wizards will take on the Boston Celtics for sole right to the #7 seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Wizards-Celtics prediction and pick.
The Wizards finished the regular season with an overall record of 34-38, but they were 41-30-1 against the spread. They beat the Charlotte Hornets in their last regular season contest.
The Celtics played to a regular season record of 36-36 overall and 34-38 against the spread. Boston closed the season by resting their healthy starters and falling to the Knicks.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Wizards-Celtics odds.
NBA Odds: Wizards-Celtics Odds
Boston Celtics -2 (-110)
Washington Wizards +2 (-110)
Over 233 Points (-110)
Under 233 Points (-110)
Why The Wizards Could Cover The Spread
The Wizards come in to this matchup on a bit of a roll, winning two straight to end the season and four straight games that both Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal have started.
The biggest factors for the Wizards tonight will be the health and effectiveness of Beal and how they defend Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
Beal is self-admittedly not at a hundred percent with a hamstring injury, which is extremely unfortunate to a Wizards team that badly needs his scoring.
The shooting guard finished just below Steph Curry in the race for the scoring title, and the Washington offense is a different beast when he is clicking. The Wizards averaged a whopping 116.6 points per game, the third most in the league.
This group bullies teams in to submission on the offensive end, shooting quickly to increase the amount of possessions that Westbrook and Beal can have to rack up the points. Washington finished fifth in the league in both field goal attempts and makes, and first in free throw attempts.
The interesting thing about this Wizards offense is they don't rely on the three-pointer to score in bunches. They shot the second least three's in the NBA during the regular season. This is a nightmare for Boston.
The Celtics allowed the fifth most paint points in the league, and gave up the sixth most free throws. Russell Westbrook is perfectly suited to pick apart a team like this.
Defensively, the Wizards will need to slow Jayson Tatum. Thankfully, they've shown they can do this. The Wizards held Tatum to a six point game back in February, possibly his worst outing of the year.
Realistically, this Wizards team is going to bleed points. Defense is not their strong suit. The trick for Washington to pull the victory tonight is to make anyone but Tatum score on them. The Celtics might not have scoring power elsewhere to keep up with an electric Wizards offense if J.T. goes cold.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
After a disappointing season, the Celtics have a chance to right the ship momentarily and secure a playoff spot tonight.
They get a chance to keep their season alive on their home floor, where they've been better but not great all year. The Celtics finished 18-18 ATS in TD Garden, a tad stronger than their 16-20 ATS road record.
While Boston will miss Jaylen Brown for this key matchup, they still have other scoring options to keep pace with the Wizards. The Celtics will focus on slowing the pace tonight and making Russell Westbrook beat them with his scoring.
The spotlight will be on Tatum tonight, but the most important player on the offensive end for the C's in their first postseason game could be Kemba Walker.
We know what to expect out of Tatum in the postseason. Walker has yet to truly live up to playoff expectations. A positive sign for Boston backers is that Kemba has looked lights out of late.
Before resting for the final three games, Walker averaged 29.8 points on 50.6% shooting in his final four regular season games. The Celtics badly need these numbers to continue if they want to avoid playing in the elimination game Thursday,
The Wizards allowed the most points in the NBA, so putting up points against them shouldn't be insanely difficult. The Celtics just need to continue to produce quality looks and allow Tatum and Walker to run up the numbers.
Defensively, the Celtics strategy should be to make Westbrook be the primary scorer tonight. With Beal slightly hobbled and no other Wizard averaging over 14 points per game, Boston should have a decisive upper hand if Westbrook is forced to carry the scoring load.
This is not a knock on Russell Westbrook's scoring ability. Brodie can still run up the numbers with the best of them. But the Wizards are better when Westbrook takes a backseat.
Russ scored 28+ points in 12 games this season. The Wizards went 6-6 in those matchups. While this record isn't the worst, Washington is much better when Russ is creating for his teammates.
If the Celtics can make Westbrook be the primary scorer, their odds of winning this game go significantly higher.
Final Wizards-Celtics Prediction & Pick
Despite the Wizard's hot close to the season, I still think Boston holds a decisive upper hand tonight. Brad Steven and the C's should control the pace tonight, plus pace of play always slows in the postseason, which means we should see a slower paced game. This gives Boston an advantage, a team that doesn't need a ton of possessions to get points or the win. With Beal still not fully healthy, I'm going to put my faith in Boston to step it up tonight and slow the Wizards offense down.
FINAL WIZARDS-CELTICS PICK AND PREDICTION: BOS 116, WAS 111 (BOSTON CELTICS -2)
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